administration. The total revenue and expenditure are each about £650,000 annually. The grand-duchy had a debt in 1907 of £2,958,409.

History. The earliest recorded inhabitants of the district now called Oldenburg were a Teutonic people, the Chauci, who were afterwards merged in the Frisians. The chroniclers delight in tracing the genealogy of the counts of Oldenburg to the Saxon hero, Widukind, the stubborn opponent of Charlemagne, but their first historical representative is one Elimar (d. 1108) who is described as comes in confinio Saxoniae et Frisiae. Elimar's descendants appear as vassals, although sometimes rebellious ones, of the dukes of Saxony; but they attained the dignity of princes of the empire when the emperor Frederick I. dismembered the Saxon duchy in 1180. At this time the county of Delmenhorst formed part of the dominions of the counts of Oldenburg, but afterwards it was on several occasions separated from them to form an apanage for younger branches of the family. This was the case between 1262 and 1447, between 1463 and 1547, and between 1577 and 1617. The northern and western parts of the present grand-duchy of Oldenburg were in the hands of independent, or semi-independent, Frisian princes, who were usually heathens, and during the early part of the 13th century the counts carried on a series of wars with these small potentates which resulted in a gradual expansion of their territory. The free city of Bremen and the bishop of Münster were also frequently at war with the counts of Oldenburg.

The successor of Count Dietrich (d. 1440), called Fortunatus, was his son Christian, who in 1448 was chosen king of Denmark as Christian I. In 1450 he became king of Norway and in 1457 king of Sweden; in 1460 he inherited the duchy of Schleswig and the county of Holstein, an event of high importance for the future history of Oldenburg. In 1454 he handed over Oldenburg to his brother Gerhard (c. 1430-1499) a turbulent prince, who was constantly at war with the bishop of Bremen and other neighbours. In 1483 Gerhard was compelled to abdicate in favour of his sons, and he died whilst on a pilgrimage in Spain. Early in the 16th century Oldenburg was again enlarged at the expense of the Frisians. Protestantism was introduced into the county by Count Anton I. (1505-1573), who also suppressed the monasteries; however, he remained loyal to Charles V. during the war of the league of Schmalkalden, and was able thus to increase his territories, obtaining Delmenhorst in 1547. One of Anton's brothers, Count Christopher (c. 1506-1560), won some reputation as a soldier. Anton's grandson, Anton Günther (1583-1667), who succeeded in 1603, proved himself the wisest prince who had yet ruled Oldenburg. Jever had been acquired before he became count, but in 1624 he added Knyphausen and Varel to his lands, with which in 1647 Delmenhorst was finally united. By his prudent neutrality during the Thirty Years' War Anton Günther secured for his dominions an immunity from the terrible devastations to which nearly all the other states of Germany were exposed. He also obtained from the emperor the right to levy tolls on vessels passing along the Weser, a lucrative grant which soon formed a material addition to his resources.

When Count Anton Günther died in June 1667 Oldenburg was inherited by virtue of a compact made in 1649 by Frederick III., king of Denmark, and Christian Albert, duke of HolsteinGottorp. Some difficulties, however, arose from this joint ownership, but eventually these were satisfactorily settled, and from 1702 to 1773 the county was ruled by the kings of Denmark only, this period being on the whole one of peaceful development. Then in 1773 another change took place. Christian VII. of Denmark surrendered Oldenburg to Paul, duke of HolsteinGottorp, afterwards the emperor Paul of Russia,' and in return Paul gave up to Christian his duchy of Holstein-Gottorp and his claims on the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. At once Paul handed over Oldenburg to his kinsman, Frederick Augustus, bishop of Lübeck, the representative of a younger branch of His father, Charles Frederick of Holstein-Gottorp (1700-1739), a descendant of Christian I. of Denmark, married Anne, daughter of Peter the Great, and became tsar as Peter III. in 1762.

the family, and in 1777 the county was raised to the rank of a duchy. The bishop's son William, who succeeded his father as duke in 1785, was a man of weak intellect, and his cousin Peter Frederick, bishop of Lübeck, acted as administrator and eventually, in 1823, inherited the duchy. This prince is the direct ancestor of the present grand duke.

To Peter fell the onerous task of governing the duchy during the time of the Napoleonic wars. In 1806 Oldenburg was occupied by the French and the Dutch, the duke and the regent being put to flight; but in 1807 William was restored, and in 1808 he joined the Confederation of the Rhine. However, in 1810 his lands were forcibly seized by Napoleon because he refused to exchange them for Erfurt. This drove him to join the Allies, and at the congress of Vienna his services were rewarded by the grant of the principality of Birkenfeld, an addition to his lands due to the good offices of the tsar Alexander I. At this time Oldenburg was made a grand duchy, but the title of grand-duke was not formally assumed until 1829, when Augustus succeeded his father Peter as ruler. Under Peter's rule the area of Oldenburg had been increased, not only by Birkenfeld, but by the bishopric of Lübeck (secularized in 1802) and some smaller pieces of territory.

Oldenburg did not entirely escape from the revolutionary movement which swept across Europe in 1848, but no serious disturbances took place therein. In 1849 the grand-duke granted a constitution of a very liberal character to his subjects. Hitherto his country had been ruled in the spirit of enlightened despotism, which was strengthened by the absence of a privileged class of nobles, by the comparative independence of the peasantry, and by the unimportance of the towns; and thus a certain amount of friction was inevitable in the working of the new order. In 1852 some modifications were introduced into the constitution, which, nevertheless, remained one of the most liberal in Germany. Important alterations were made in the administrative system in 1855, and again in 1868, and church affairs were ordered by a law of 1853. In 1863 the grand-duke Peter II. (1827-1900), who had ruled Oldenburg since the death of his father Augustus in 1853, seemed inclined to press a claim to the vacant duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, but ultimately in 1867 he abandoned this in favour of Prussia, and received some slight compensation. In 1866 he had sided with this power against Austria and had joined the North German Confederation; in 1871 Oldenburg became a state of the new German empire. In June 1900 Frederick Augustus (b. 1852) succeeded his father Peter as grandduke. By a law passed in 1904 the succession to Oldenburg was vested in Frederick Ferdinand, duke of Schleswig-HolsteinSonderburg-Glücksburg, and his family, after the extinction of the present ruling house. This arrangement was rendered advisable because the grand-duke Frederick Augustus had only one son Nicholas (b. 1897), and his only brother George Louis (1855) was unmarried.

For the history of Oldenburg see Runde, Oldenburgische Chronik (Oldenburg, 1863): E. Pleitner, Oldenburg im 19 Jahrhundert burg, 1903). See also the Jahrbuch für die Geschichte des Herzogtums (Oldenburg, 1899-1900); and Oldenburgisches Quellenbuch (OldenOldenburg (1892 seq.).

OLDENBURG, a town of Germany, and capital of the grandduchy of Oldenburg. It is a quiet and pleasant-looking town, situated 27 m. by rail W. of Bremen, on the navigable Hunte and the Hunte-Ems canal. Pop. (1905), including the suburbs, 28,555. The inner or old town, with its somewhat narrow streets, is surrounded by avenues laid out on the site of the former ramparts, beyond which are the villas, promenades and gardens of the modern quarters. Oldenburg has almost nothing to show in the shape of interesting old buildings. The

Augustus bishop of Lübeck (d. 1726), who in 1751 became king of To this branch belonged Adolphus Frederick, son of Christian Sweden.

Another branch of the Oldenburg family, descended from John, son of Christian III. of Denmark, is that of Holstein-Sonderburg. This was subdivided into the lines of Sonderburg-Augustenburg and Sonderburg-Glücksburg. Prince Christian, who married Princess Helena of Great Britain, belongs to the former of them. To the latter belong the kings of Denmark, Greece and Norway,

OLDHAM, a municipal county and parliamentary borough of Lancashire, England, 7 m. N.E. of Manchester, on the London & North-Western, Great Central and Lancashire & Yorkshire railways and the Oldham canal. Pop. (1891) 131.463; (1901) 137,246. The principal railway station is called Mumps, but there are several others. The town lies high, near the source of the small river Medlock. Its growth as a manufacturing centre gives it a wholly modern appearance. Among several handsome churches the oldest dates only from the later 18th century. The principal buildings and institutions include the town-hall, with tetrastyle portico copied from the Ionic temple of Ceres near Athens, the reference library, art gallery and museum, the Union Street baths, commemorating Sir Robert Peel the statesman, and the county court. Of educational establishments the chief are the Lyceum, a building in Italian style, containing schools of art and science, and including an observatory; the largely-endowed bluc-coat school founded in 1808 by Thomas Henshaw, a wealthy manufacturer of hats; the Hulme grammar school (1895), and municipal technical schools. The Alexandra Park, opened in 1865, was laid out by operatives who were thrown out of employment owing to the cotton famine in the years previous to that date. The site is picturesquely undulating and terraced. Oldham is one of the most important centres of the cotton manufactures, the consumption of cotton being about one-fifth of the total importation into the United Kingdom, the factories numbering some 230, and the spindles over 13 millions, while some 35,000 operatives are employed. The principal manufactures are fustians, velvets, cords, shirtings, sheetings and nankeens. There are also large foundries and mill and cotton machinery works; and works for the construction of gas-meters and sewing-machines; while all these industries are assisted by the immediate presence of collieries. There are extensive markets and numerous fairs are held. Oldham was incorporated in 1849, and became a county borough in 1888. The corporation consists of a mayor, 12 aldermen and 36 councillors. The parliamentary borough has returned two members since 1832. Area of municipal borough, 4736 acres. A Roman road, of which some traces are still left, passes through the site of the township, but it does not appear to have been a Roman station. It is not mentioned in Domesday; but in the reign of Henry III. Alwardus de Aldholme is referred to as holding land in Vernet (Werneth). A daughter and co-heiress of this Alwardus conveyed Werneth Hall and its manor to the Cudworths, a branch of the Yorkshire family, with whom it remained till the early part of the 18th century. From the Oldhams was descended Hugh Oldham, who died bishop of Exeter in 1519. From entries in the church registers it would appear that linens were manufactured in Oldham as early as 1630. Watermills were introduced in 1770, and with the adoption of Arkwright's inventions the cotton industry grew with great rapidity.

OLD MAID, a game of cards. Any number may play, and the full pack is used, the Queen of Hearts being removed. The cards are dealt out one by one until exhausted, and each player then sorts his hand and discards the pairs. The dealer then offers his hand, spread out face downwards to the next player, who draws a card, which, if it completes a pair, is discarded, but otherwise remains in the hand. The process continues from player to player, until all the cards have been paired and discarded excepting the odd queen, the holder of which is the "Old Maid."

OLDMIXON, JOHN (1673-1742), English historian, was a son of John Oldmixon of Oldmixon, near Bridgwater. His first writings were poems and dramas, among them being Amores Britannici; Epistles historical and gallant (1703); and a tragedy, The Governor of Cyprus. His earliest historical work was The British Empire in America (1708 and again 1741), which was followed by The Secret History of Europe (1712-1715); by Arcana Gallica, or the Secret History of France for the last Century

ever, although of a very partisan character, are Oldmixon's works on English history. His Critical history of England (17241726) contains attacks on Clarendon and a defence of Bishop Burnet, and its publication led to a controversy between Dr Zachary Grey (1688–1766) and the author, who replied to Grey in his Clarendon and Whitlock compared (1727). On the same lines he wrote his History of England during the Reigns of the Royal House of Stuart (1730). Herein he charged Bishop Atterbury and other of Clarendon's editors with tampering with the text of the History. From his exile Atterbury replied to this charge in a | Vindication, and although Oldmixon continued the controversy it is practically certain that he was in the wrong. He completed a continuous history of England by writing the History of England during the Reigns of William and Mary, Anne and George I. (1735); and the History of England during the Reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI., Mary and Elizabeth (1739). Among his other writings are, Memoirs of North Britain (1715), Essay on Criticism (1728) and Memoirs of the Press 1710-1740 (1742), which was only published after his death. Oldmixon had much to do with editing two periodicals, The Muses Mercury and The Medley, and he often complained that his services were overlooked by the government. He died on the 9th of July 1742.

OLD POINT COMFORT, a summer and winter resort, in Elizabeth City county, Virginia, U.S.A., at the southern end of a narrow, sandy peninsula projecting into Hampton Roads (at the mouth of the James river), about 12 m. N. by W. of Norfolk. It is served directly by the Chesapeake & Ohio railway, and indirectly by the New York, Philadelphia & Norfolk (Pennsylvania System), passengers and freight being carried by steamer from the terminus at Cape Charles; by steamboat lines connecting with the principal cities along the Atlantic coast, and with cities along the James river; by ferry, connecting with Norfolk and Portsmouth; and by electric railway (3 m.) to Hampton and (12 m.) to Newport News. There is a U.S. garrison at Fort Monroe, one of the most important fortifications on the Atlantic coast of the United States. Old Point Comfort is included in the reservation of Fort Monroe. The fort lies within the tract of 252 acres ceded, for coast defence purposes, to the Federal government by the state of Virginia in 1821, the survey for the original fortifications having been made in 1818, and the building begun in 1819. It was named in honour of President Monroe and was first regularly garrisoned in 1823; in 1824 the Artillery School of Practice (now called the United States Coast Artillery School) was established to provide commissioned officers of the Coast Artillery with instruction in professional work and to give technical instruction to the non-commissioned staff. During the Civil War the fort was the rendezvous for several military expeditions, notably those of General Benjamin F. Butler to Hatteras Inlet, in 1861; of General A. E. Burnside, to North Carolina, in 1862; and of General A. H. Terry, against Fort Fisher, in 1865; within sight of its parapets was fought the famous duel between the "Monitor" and the "Merrimac " (March 9, 1862). Jefferson Davis was a prisoner here for two years, from the 22nd of May 1865, and Clement Claiborne Clay (1819-1882), a prominent Confederate, from the same date until April 1866. Between Fort Monroe and Sewell's Point is Fort Wool, almost covering a small island called Rip Raps. The expedition which settled Jamestown rounded this peninsula (April 26, 1607), opened its sealed instructions here, and named the peninsula Poynt Comfort, in recognition of the sheltered harbour. (The "Old" was added subsequently to distinguish it from a Point Comfort settlement at the mouth of the York river on Chesapeake Bay). On the site of the present fortification a fort was erected by the whites as early as 1630.

OLD TOWN, a city of Penobscot county, Maine, U.S.A., on the Penobscot river, about 12 m. N.E. of Bangor. Pop. (1890) 5312; (1900) 5763 (1247 foreign-born); (1910) 6317. It is served by the Maine Central and the Bangor & Aroostook railways, and by an electric line connecting with Bangor. The city proper is on an island (Marsh, or Old Town Island), but considerable territory on the W. bank of the river is included

the first township organized (1808), being then coextensive with the county. Olean Creek was called Ischue (or Ischua); then Olean was suggested, possibly in reference to the oil-springs in the vicinity. The village was officially called Hamilton for a time, but Olean was the name given to the post-office in 1817, and Olean Point was the popular local name. In 1909 several suburbs, including the village of North Olean (pop. in 1905, 1761), were annexed to Olean, considerably increasing its area and population.

OLDYS, WILLIAM (1696-1761), English antiquary and bibliographer, natural son of Dr William Oldys, chancellor of Lincoln, was born on the 14th of July 1696, probably in London. His father had also held the office of advocate of the admiralty, but lost it in 1693 because he would not prosecute as traitors and pirates the sailors who had served against England under James II. William Oldys, the younger, lost part of his small patrimony in the South Sea Bubble, and in 1724 went to Yorkshire, spending the greater part of the next six years as the guest of the earl of Malton. On his return to London he found that his landlord had disposed of the books and papers left in his charge. Among these was an annotated copy of Gerard Langbaine's Dramatick Poets. The book came into the hands of Thomas Coxeter (1689-1747), and subsequently into Theophilus Cibber's possession, and furnished the basis of the Lives of the Poets (1753) published with Cibber's name on the title page, though most of it was written by Robert Shiels. In 1731 Oldys sold his collections to Edward Harley, second earl of Oxford, who appointed him his literary secretary in 1738. Three years later his patron died, and from that time he worked for the booksellers. His habits were irregular, and in 1751 his debts drove him to the Fleet prison. After two years' imprisonment he was released through the kindness of friends who paid his debts, and in April 1755 he was appointed Norroy king-at-arms by the duke of Norfolk. He died on the 15th of April 1761. Oldys's chief works are: The British Librarian, a review of scarce and valuable books in print and in manuscript (1737-1738); the Harleian Miscellany (1744-1746), a collection of tracts and pamphlets in the earl of Oxford's library, undertaken in conjunction with Dr Johnson; twenty-two articles contributed to the Biographia Britannica (1747-1760); an edition of Raleigh's History of the World, with a Life of the author (1736); Life of Charles Cotton prefixed to Sir John Hawkins's edition (1760) of the Compleat Angler. In 1727 Oldys began to annotate another Langbaine to replace the one he had lost. This valuable book, with a MS. collection of notes by Oldys on various bibliographical subjects, is preserved in the British Museum.

OLEAN, a city of Cattaraugus county, in south-western New York, U.S.A., on Olean Creek and the N. side of the Allegheny river, 70 m. S.E. of Buffalo. Pop. (1880), 3036; (1890), 7358; (1900), 9462, of whorn 1514 were foreign-born and 122 were negroes; (1910 census), 14,743. The city is served by the Eric, the Pittsburg, Shawmut & Northern, and the Pennsylvania | railways (the last has large car shops here); and is connected with Bradford, Pa., Allegany, Pa., Salamanca, N.Y., Little Valley, N.Y., and Bolivar, N.Y., by electric lines. Olean is situated in a level valley 1440 ft. above sea-level. The surrounding country is rich in oil and natural gas. Six miles from Olean and 2000 ft. above the sea-level is Rock City, a group of immense, strangely regular, conglomerate rocks (some of them pure white) covering about 40 acres. They are remnants of a bed of Upper Devonian Conglomerate, which broke along the joint planes, leaving a group of huge blocks. In the city are a public library, a general hospital and a state armoury; and at Allegany (pop. 1910, 1286), about 3 m. W of Olean, is St. Bonaventure's College (1859; Roman Catholic). Olean's factory product was valued at $4,677,477 in 1905; the city is the terminus of an Ohio pipe line, and of a sea-board pipe line for petroleum; and among its industries are oil-refining and the refining of wood alcohol, tanning, currying, and finishing leather; and the manufacture of flour, glass (mostly bottles),

See History of Cattaraugus County, New York (Philadelphia, 1879). OLEANDER, the common name for the shrub known to botanists as Nerium Oleander. It is a native of the Mediterranean and Levant, and is characterized by its tall shrubby habit and its thick lance-shaped opposite leaves, which exude a milky juice when punctured. The flowers are borne in terminal clusters, and are like those of the common periwinkle (Vinca), but are of a rose colour, rarely white, and the throat or upper edge of the tube of the corolla is occupied by outgrowths in the form of lobed and fringed petal-like scales. The hairy anthers adhere to the thickened stigma. The fruit or seed-vessel consists of two long pods, which, bursting along one edge, liberate a number of seeds, each of which has a tuft of silky hairs like thistle down at the upper end. The genus belongs to the natural order Apocynaceae, a family that, as is usual where the juice has a milky appearance, is marked by its poisonous properties. Cases are recorded by Lindley of children poisoned by the flowers. The same author also narrates how in the course of the Peninsular War some French soldiers died in consequence of employing skewers made from freshly-cut twigs of oleander for roasting their meat. The oleander was known to the Greeks under three names, viz. rhododendron, nerion and rhododaphne, and is well described by Pliny (xvi. 20), who mentions its rose-like flowers and poisonous qualities, at the same time stating that it was. considered serviccable as a remedy against snake-bite. The name is supposed to be a corruption of lorandrum, lauridendrum (Du Cange), influenced by olca, the olive-tree, lorandrum being itself a corruption of rhododendron. The modern Greeks still know the plant as pododáøvn, although in a figure in the Rinuccini MSS. of Dioscorides a plant is represented under this name, which, however, had rather the appearance of a willow herb (Epilobium). The oleander has long been cultivated in greenhouses in England, being, as Gerard says, "a small shrub of a gallant shewe"; numerous varieties, differing in the colour of their flowers, which are often double, have been introduced.

Nerium Oleander.

OLEASTER, known botanically as Elaeagnus hortensis, a handsome deciduous tree, 15 to 20 ft. high, growing in the Mediterranean region and temperate Asia, where it is commonly cultivated for its edible fruit. The brown smooth branches are more or less spiny; the narrow leaves have a hoary look from the presence of a dense covering of star-shaped hairs; the small fragrant yellow flowers, which are borne in the axils of the leaves, are scaly on the outside. The genus contains other species of ornamental deciduous or evergreen shrubs or small trees. E. argentea, a native of North America, has leaves and fruit covered with shining silvery scales. In E. glabra, from Japan, the evergreen leaves are clothed beneath with rustcoloured scales; variegated forms of this are cultivated, as also of E. pungens, another Japanese species, a spiny shrub with leaves silvery beneath.